Sonora, CA – Mother Lode Congressman Tom McClintock joins 14 California members of the House of Representatives that are not only objecting, but also threatening legislative and legal action to counter a State Water Resources Control Board plan that would impact flows from February to June at New Melones.

McClintock co-authored the letter to State Water Resources Control Board Chair Felicia Marcus with Congressman Jeff Denham, which voices “fervent opposition” to the board’s proposed final San Joaquin River flows and Southern Delta water quality amendments to the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary.

The letters states, “The Board’s proposal clearly subordinates the beneficial human use of the water in favor of fish and wildlife measures of dubious validity, contrary to congressional authorization of the Central Valley Project and the New Melones Dam.” It also notes that the proposed 40 percent unimpaired flow standard will decrease power generation and public recreation on the lake, as first reported here.

Instead, the group supports the adjustments contained in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) for New Melones operations in the 2015 water year. Its aim is to protect municipal, agriculture, recreation, power water supply, steelhead population, and preserve a least a modicum of water storage behind New Melones Dam for the remainder of the water year. The letter ends with a threat to “seek legislative, administrative and judicial countermeasures.”